


Daughter of the Phoenix

by AshesOfYourShame



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Agni Kai (Avatar), Azula sees her father through rose-colored glasses, Gen, Hurt, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Past Abuse, Sibling Bonding, Violence, Zuko (Avatar) is a Good Brother, despite being terrified of him, those glasses are getting charred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25225303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshesOfYourShame/pseuds/AshesOfYourShame
Summary: In the Royal Plaza, on the eve of her father's coronation as Phoenix King, Azula speaks out of turn. For her insolence, Ozai challenges her to an Agni Kai. Believing he just wants to bruise her ego a bit, she accepts the fire duel. After all, she is the favorite child of his, the loyal child of his. Her Agni Kai will be nothing like Zuko's from three years prior because her father cares about her. Right?An alternative take on the scene between Ozai and Azula from "The Phoenix King"Now includes part 2 with an alternate take on the confrontation between Azula and Zuko from "Into the Inferno"
Relationships: Azula & Ozai (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 191





	1. A Storm of Fire

Azula’s words hung in the Royal Plaza air, a beacon of insolence laid bare before her father. Her father who ruled with a fist of iron and flame. Her father who demanded complete respect and fealty. Her father… who she just raised her voice to. What had she done?

Ozai kept his back to her, kept his words to himself. His silence was all she heard. What was he thinking? What was he going to do? To have such a petulant display from his own daughter in front of the gathered crowd was unacceptable. It was embarrassing. And embarrassments couldn’t go unpunished.

The Agni Kai between her father and brother three years ago… The images flashed before her eyes as if they were happening all over again. All because her brother spoke out of turn, undermined their father’s absolute authority. She remembered being in that audience, remembered the excitement which pumped through her veins at watching her brother grovel at their father’s feet. Remembered his screams as their father burned him without pity. Faced with the same fate today as her brother met then didn’t appeal to her. But her father wouldn’t… right?

She’d served him loyally, faithfully all her life. That had to count for something, right? She was his sword whenever he needed her. That mattered to him, didn’t it? She was his last loyal heir. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his legacy, would he?

Her heart pounded in her chest with painful ferocity. Azula dropped to her knees on the phoenix patterned mat that covered the top tier of the ship boarding platform. “Father I”—her mouth tasted dry—“I don’t know what—”

“Silence, Azula,” her father said still refusing to look at her. “I’d expect an outburst like this from your brother, but never from you.” he faced her, and under his steel gaze she felt like a child. “You disappoint me.”

She recoiled from his words as if he’d slapped her. If there was one thing her father had never been with her it’s disappointed. “I don’t have any words.” For a moment she considered asking for his forgiveness, but he’d only see the action as weakness. Something to be stamped into dust. Something to be punished.

Her brother’s face, burnt and raw seared itself in her eyes. He was only a year younger than she was now when it happened. But her father couldn’t… He wouldn’t… Zuko was mutilated because he was a coward. And she wasn’t a coward. She wouldn’t shame her father further by pleading for mercy.

“I accept whatever punishment you deem necessary,” she said keeping her head low in a bow, trying to maintain a level voice. No weakness. Only strength. Strength was rewarded. It always was.

“Do you now? Alright then. You want to join me in invading the Earth Kingdom so much that you would risk my wrath to do so? Then we’ll settle this the traditional way—an Agni Kai!”

Azula stared wide-eyed at the floor, grateful her father couldn’t see her shock. It… it had to be a joke. But she knew it wasn’t. Her father never joked about anything. Had it been anyone else challenging her to an Agni Kai, she would’ve gleefully accepted to put them in their place for thinking they stood a chance against the Princess of the Fire Nation trained under the best Fire Lord the Nation had ever seen. However, this wasn’t just anyone. This was her father, and despite her skill she knew she wasn’t a match for him.

“An Agni Kai, Father?”

“Yes. If you win by striking me down you may join my invasion,” he said.

She peered up at her father. “And if I can’t?”

Her father remained silent for an uncomfortable stretch of time, keeping a trained eye on her with his arms crossed. No one else made a sound. All she heard was the beat of her own heart. She watched his face for any sign of feeling, but saw nothing.

Then he spoke.

“If you can’t beat me then you’ll return home as the new Fire Lord while I assume the title of Phoenix King, ruler of the world. Do you accept my challenge? Or are you weaker than I thought?”

Win and join the invasion or lose and become Fire Lord? Both outcomes seemed too good to be true. There had to be a trick. Some angle her father had that she wasn’t seeing. And yet his face continued to betray nothing. He knew she couldn’t beat him in a fight just as she knew the same. Just as they both knew she couldn’t refuse lest she disgrace herself further.

Azula took a deep breath, steeled her body so it wouldn’t shake as she stood. “Very well. I accept your challenge.” She wouldn’t be Zuko. She’d face her father, accept her forgone defeat and bruised pride.

“Then it is settled.” He looked to the Fire Sages and soldiers surrounding them. “Leave us.”

They formed a column on either side of the platform and filed down the stairs.

And so she was alone with her father. Sweat slicked her palms as they both walked silently to opposite sides. Azula had fought many people in her life. Soldiers, mercenaries, bandits, her brother, and even her former friends Ty Lee and Mai. Yet they were nothing compared to her father.

Her father gave no quarter to his adversaries who he struck with a firm, ruthless hand. From the greatest war lord to the lowliest peasant. It didn’t matter. He’d crush them both with the same ferocity. It was this uncompromising nature she admired. It was his ruthlessness she adapted.

He would hold nothing back against her. He’d crush her like any other enemy. In this moment blood didn’t matter. All she could hope to do was hold him off long enough to satisfy his desire to punish her.

Zuko’s scream from their father’s flame filled her ears, distracted her from the stream of fire barreling towards her from her father’s fist. No she had to focus. She threw up a wall of blue fire. Orange and blue clashed. Heat washed over her. His flame shattered her defense, knocked her over the rail.

With quick jabs, discs of fire launched from her finger tips towards her father who leaped into the air, dodging the first volley. He swiped his arm, incinerating the remaining discs with ease. She righted herself, landed on her feet before rolling out of the way of a fire lash. Embers scattered at her feet.

“Is this all you can do, Azula?” Her father struck her shoulder with a second lash, causing her to stumble. “Have I taught you nothing?” He landed resoundingly about twelve feet from where she stood.

She needed to do something, but her brother’s pathetic face wouldn’t leave her alone. Where was the cunning Azula, the Azula who conquered Ba Sing Se and turned the Dai Li against their former leader? Where was the tactical Azula, the one who held her own versus the Avatar and his friends several times? She was better than this. And she wouldn’t let her brother get to her. She was the favorite! Zuko’s Agni Kai with their father was different. Azula dropped and spun with her leg outstretched. A thin strand of fire whipped at her father.

“You continue to disappoint me.” Her father crushed the fire under his foot, turned it into smoke. “Is this the best you can do?” An orange glow radiated from his fists.

Azula vaulted over the stairs, pressed her back against the other side. An inferno raged past the stairs. Sweat threatened to blur her vision. She wiped it away with the back of her hand. She glanced towards the sky, but all she saw was fire. When the last wisps of her father’s fire faded, she reached around the blackened stone, yanked her arm back, and threw her fist forward. Blue flame streaked over the chard steps.

“You weren’t even close,” her father said. “I expected more from you, Azula. A Fire Lord doesn’t hide from their enemies like a coward. That’s something I’d expect from your brother, but not you. I raised you better than this.”

How dare he suggest she was a coward? Azula closed her eyes, felt her nails dig into her palms. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t her brother. She was heir to the throne. She. Was not. A coward! She glared at where she thought her father was behind her. If he wanted proof she wasn’t anything like Zuko, she’d give it to him.

Azula rolled out of cover, launching a barrage of fire balls at her father. “I am not a coward!” Her arms burned, but she wouldn’t let up. The smoke from her assault billowed towards her, invaded her lungs. “I’m not Zuko!” She coughed into her arm. The smoke cleared.

Her father wasn’t there.

Where… She saw her father coming down from the sky, fists pressed together above his head. Azula back flipped as he smashed his fists into the ground, sending a wave of fire at her. The fire passed harmlessly below her, but then she saw the second smaller wave. There wasn’t time to think. She twisted her body to avoid hitting the flames, throwing off her balance. She slammed into the ground and rolled several feet.

Azula groaned, leaning on her arm to push herself to her feet only to see a fist. Her father held a flame inches from her face. Her heart sank. He… he wouldn’t. He won. He taught her a lesson. Her brother’s cry echoed in her mind. But then the fire disappeared and he smiled at her. Relief coursed through her. Her actions were forgiven.

“You fought well, Azula,” he said.

“Thank you father,” she said. “I apologize for my earlier actions.”

“Your apology is accepted.”

“So does this mean I’m Fire Lord now?” A spark of hope lit itself in her heart.

“I’m a man of my word.” He placed a hand on the right side of her face, stroked her cheek with his thumb. His hand was warm. “As soon as our battle is finished you will be the new Fire Lord.”

“Wh-What? But I thought—”

“Don’t you remember, Azula? An Agni Kai is over only when one party burns the other.”

A cold pit grew in the center of her being. His words and what he meant clicked in her mind until she was left with a cruel realization. “Father, please… I am your loyal daughter… please don’t—”

Red hot searing pain radiated from her face. She screamed. The putrid smell of her own cooking flesh turned her stomach. Tears streamed down her face. Azula grabbed her father’s wrist, tried to pull it away from her boiling skin. This couldn’t be happening. She was his favorite. His prodigy!

“Daddy, please stop!” Gone were all pretenses of being the cold calculating princess of the Fire Nation. She was a little girl again, a little girl terrified of her father. Through eyes blurred with tears she met his gaze, tried to find the man who she respected as a child.

But in his eyes she saw nothing.

With his free hand, her father grabbed the back of her head and forced her into his hand until his fingertips dug into her. “You continue to disgrace yourself,” he said. “You’re no better than your traitor of a brother.” He released her face.

Azula curled into herself, body wracked by pain. Her hand covered her raw, burned cheek. She sobbed unable to find words. Her father loomed over her, and she flinched away from him.

“You will be Fire Lord today, my daughter,” he whispered. “But if you ever speak out of turn to me again, heir or not, you will pay even more for your insolence. Do you understand?”

She nodded fervently.

“Good,” he said. “Bring her back to the palace and out of my sight! My coronation as Phoenix King will proceed as planned with no more delay.”

All her life Azula believed her father cared about her. Sure he never said as much, but he didn’t need to, did he? He was the proud Fire Lord and she was his prized daughter. Was she just a pawn to him? Was she something to be discarded at his convenience? The mirror in which she viewed herself cracked and fragmented—shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Did her father ever care about her at all? Was she worth nothing in his eyes? The pain in her heart burned hotter than her face.


	2. The Final Agni Kai

Azula knelt at the top of the stairs of the Coronation Plaza, waited for the Fire Sage to place the Fire Lord’s crown atop her head. A crown she’d wanted her entire life. A crown which came with a heavy price. She gingerly touched the bandage covering the right half of her face and winced. The burn from her father throbbed, reminded her of the disgrace she suffered not more than a few days ago.

This should’ve been a monumental event. Banners should’ve stretched from one end of the plaza to the next. Crowds should’ve overflowed into the city streets. The citizens of the Fire Nation should’ve erupted in uproarious applause when the crown was placed atop her head. Her father should’ve been standing proudly by her side as she took the mantle of Fire Lord and pledged her unwavering loyalty to him—the Phoenix King.

It should’ve been hers. It could’ve been hers were it not for a single lapse in judgment—a moment of weakness. So instead of crowds of people who respected and feared her, she was moments away from being crowned in front of a desolate plaza. And instead of her father brimming with pride by her side, he was off to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground shamed by her disrespectful actions. All because of one mistake. One mistake in fourteen years, and her life was inexorably changed. Only one… Would her father ever accept her again?

She had only wanted to be by his side after all. Had that been too much to ask? It was her idea to bring the Earth Kingdom to its knees by drowning It in torrential fire to begin with. Couldn’t he understand why she’d want to be there? Wasn’t he proud of her desire to see her plan through? She’d offered her sincere apology, fought with bravery during their Agni Kai. Did he have to scar her so thoroughly?

Azula felt the shadow of her father’s fingers digging into her skin. Why did he do it? He’d never laid a hand on her before the day of their Agni Kai. A Fire Lord had to be a sword ready to cut down their enemies at a moment’s notice, but she had never been his enemy. Everything she did she did because he demanded it, and she succeeded because it made him proud of her. Because he had been proud of her, hadn’t he?

But above being a sword for the Nation, a Fire Lord had to be something else…

Feared.

Even she feared her father. How couldn’t she? He was the most powerful man in the Fire Nation. People lived and died by his word… or his hand. But she was his daughter—loyal and mirrored in his image. There would always be an exception for her. Because he cared about her… Yet he burned her anyway…

Azula dug her nails into her knees to refocus her mind. “Are you going to get on with it?” she asked the sage. “There are four others with you. I’m sure one of them could handle this task.”

He’d had ample time, so why hadn’t the sage placed the crown on her head yet? Then she noticed her crowd of no one had turned into a crowd of two. She glared at her new guests. Zuko and the water girl. Of course. When had they arrived? She cursed to herself for failing to notice the intruders. Another failure to add to her list.

She waved the sage away, walked towards her brother slowly, deliberately. Her steps echoed across the plaza. “Come to watch my coronation as Fire Lord, Zuzu? I’m touched.” She placed a hand over her heart. “You could have brought a better date though. Where’s Mai? Was she not available?” She tapped a finger to her chin. “Oh, wait. I remember now. I had her thrown in prison. How do you think she’ll react when she learns you’ve replaced her?”

“I didn’t come here to talk about Mai”—Zuko clinched his fist—“or watch you become Fire Lord!”

“So this _is_ about challenging my right to rule then. And here I thought you’d be proud of your little sister for achieving something you never could. You wound me, Brother.”

“Zuko has more right to be Fire Lord than you ever will!” the water girl said, taking a defiant step forward.

Azula’s lip curled and her fingers twitched. “Silence, peasant!”

How she wanted to bathe that insolent girl in a bath of blue flame. She dared speak out of turn against her—like she’d done against her father? The thought stopped her descent for the briefest of moments. Why would that cross her mind? With a shake of her head, she continued as if nothing happened at all.

“Katara,” Zuko said then looked to Katara and shook his head.

Azula watched Katara back down just behind Zuko where she belonged. “That’s a good girl,” she said. “Know your place. This is a family affair.” Katara remained silent, but there was fire in her gaze as she watched her approach.

Zuko took a deep breath, let his hand fall to his side. “Azula… What happened to you?”

“Just now noticing, Zuzu?” She brushed her fingers along the outside edges of the bandage. “I got careless during a training exercise and paid the price for it.”

“Azula…”

She knew he knew her words were a lie. It was written in his voice. “Don’t you dare say it.”

“You and I both know there’s only one person capable of burning you. What I want to know is why he did it.”

Why? She disgraced him, so he fought her. She fought with courage and ferocity befitting that of the future heir, yet he still burned her. He seared her face even though he didn’t have to, even after she pleaded—begged him not to. She was his loyal prodigy, yet he burrowed his fingers like claws into her face and left her scarred and disgraced like her brother.

“Because… I was weak.” She clenched her fingers. “But I should actually thank him.” Azula swished her hand in the air. “He made me realize I needed more focus. If I’d never lost sight of the throne none of this would’ve happened.” There was pity in her brother’s gaze. It curled her lip. “Don’t you dare look at me like that!”

The look of the Sages. The look of her advisers and protectors. Pity. But they didn’t have the right to bear that look. Where were any of them when her father marked her? No where in sight or on their hands and knees in silence around the harbor. All loyal to her father, none loyal to her, so she banished them all save for a few needed Fire Sages to crown her Fire Lord. But their time was marked in hours and minutes. Everyone would be replaced. And those who’d take their place would be loyal to her and only her.

Even the servants dared to look at her differently. She recalled the girls filing her nails, feeding her cherries, how the one couldn’t stop staring at her bandages. The poor thing was too foolish to know any better, but the gentle frown on her face frustrated her. She remembered lashing out, striking the bowl fromthe one’s hands, scattering the cherries across the floor. The girl’s pupils had widened, and she’d felt a rush of familiar power over her.

_“_ _Do you know what it feels like to have your face melted?”_ Her own words came back to her as she pictured the moment she held fire inches from the servant’s face. All she had to do was press her palm to flawless skin. The girl couldn’t stop shaking. And they’d both known no one around them would step in… just like there had been no one to step in for her. Why hadn’t she burned that girl when she had the chance? Instead she just banished her with everyone else.

“We don’t have to fight, Azula,” Zuko said, taking her out of her mind.

“Don’t we, Brother?” she asked. “Isn’t that why you came here today? Isn’t that why you brought her? Isn’t that why destiny seems to push us to confrontation every chance it has to?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Azula laughed. “And I thought lying was beneath even a traitor like you. I guess I was wrong.”

“Azu—”

Azula cut the air with her arm. “Enough!” She jabbed a finger into Zuko’s chest. “There’s only one way to settle this…”

“Don’t…” Zuko said.

“Agni Kai!” she said.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Fine,” he said. “I accept your challenge.”

Azula watched her brother make his way to the other end of the plaza. There was no way she’d let her brother insult her with his fake pity, and maybe if she won, defeated the traitor to the Fire Nation, their father would see fit to accept her back into his grace. All she had to do was beat Zuko one more time. Zuko the coward. Zuko who she always beat as a child when they fought. Zuko who cried at their father’s hand—just like her…

Fire erupted from her fists. She jammed her arms behind her and the flames propelled her towards her brother. There would be no defensive play or hiding behind the stairs. She would end this fight before it even started. Zuko would be nothing but ash scattered in the wind by her flame.

“Sorry it has to end like this, Brother!” she said

A vortex of blue flame swirled at Zuko from her punch, but he didn’t move. The fool. He was probably paralyzed with fear. Yet, no such emotion betrayed itself in his gaze. Instead he remained firm, immovable and brought his hands together. Red fire cut through the center of her flames, dissipating them harmlessly to his sides.

Zuko extended his palm. A cone of fire whipped towards her. Azula launched herself into the sky and over the fire. Somehow her brother had managed to improve his skills since the last time she saw him, but it had to be a fluke brought on by Sozin’s Comet. She was better than him. She’d always be better than him.

Azula extended her leg and rotated. An explosive line of fire shot towards her brother when she landed. Zuko still didn’t move from his position. He reeled his arm back and slammed his fist into the ground. Fire erupted from the spot, eviscerating her flame and charged towards her. She rolled to the side.

The heat of the fire kissed her cheek. Her eyes widened. Azula stayed on the ground, positioned herself so she could spring back into action. She panted, wiped the sweat from her brow. He’d almost hit her. Zuko. Her brother who she always beat almost struck her. What would her father do if she lost to Zuko? There would be no redemption for her in his eyes. She’d be disgraced. Forever.

Unacceptable.

“We can end this right now, Azula!” Zuko said. “We don’t have to continue this fight.”

“Don’t you remember, Zuzu? An Agni Kai only ends when one party burns the other. If you want this fight to end then you better burn me!” She launched at Zuko, fire in her hands and in her gaze. “Before I burn you!”

“Enough of this!” Zuko spun. Waves of fire came at her, threatened to knock her off balance.

But not this time.

She twisted through the blades of flame.

Not this—

A stream of fire slammed into her chest, knocked her backwards.

—time.

Her back smashed into the ground, forced the air from her lungs. Azula stared into the oranges and reds of the sky. He hit her. The traitor, the loser, the coward hit her. She glanced at her armor blackened by the flame. Her armor was burned, but she herself wasn’t. Azula laughed and winced from the pain threading through her body as she forced herself to her knees.

“This… isn’t over, brother!” she said. As long as she had breath in her lungs this fight wouldn’t end. She’d find a way to win. Even if her body refused to cooperate with her, she’d find a way to push through the pain. She had to. She had no choice. The price for failure was…

“Yes. It is.” Zuko stood over her, palm extended. “Yield.”

“I won’t.”

“Yield!”

“I can’t! You’ll have to burn me if you want this fight to stop.”

Zuko’s hand faltered for a moment as he took in her words. “I’m not going to burn you.” And he sounded like he meant it.

“We both know how this ends,” Azula said, resigning herself to her fate. “There’s no point in either of us lying to each other… or ourselves. I just—if I may make a request could you just avoid my face?”

Azula dug her nails into her legs. How pathetic was she asking for special treatment? She was a disgrace to her nation—to the throne she coveted. Her father would never forgive her. And she would never forgive herself. She lost to Zuko. A final failure to her list. Her vision blurred. She clamped her eyes.

“I’m not going to burn you,” he said again.

“Do it you coward!” She glared at him, tears running down her cheeks. “Forget what I said. I can take it. I did before. Do it!”

“Azula.” Zuko got on his knees, placed his hand on her left cheek. Her heart stilled. This was it. He was actually going to do it.

She waited for the simmer. She waited for the boiling heat. She waited for the sickening smell of her burning face to fill her nose once more. She waited. But the heat of fire never left his palm, and the only warmth she felt was his own.

“Look at me,” he said.

But she refused, choosing to instead stare at the ground.

“I am not going to burn you.”

Silence fell between them.

“Why?” she whispered. “You know I would.”

“I know,” he said. “But I’m not you and I’m not our father.”

“You know this will taint your victory, but you don’t care do you?”

“Agni Kais are a symbol of our Nation’s ingrained violence,” Zuko said. “I want something better for us.” He stood.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw his hand lowered towards her.

“Will you help me?” he asked.

“You’re an idiot,” Azula said. “You know I can’t be trusted.”

“People can change if they want to.”

Could she change? The thought had never crossed her mind until this moment, but… “Father will hate me…”

“You don’t have to worry about our father anymore,” Zuko said. “I’ll make sure he can’t hurt you ever again. Besides Aang is probably fighting him as we speak. And once he wins no one will have to worry about him. So what will you choose?”

Azula touched her bandage, felt the ache of the wounded flesh underneath. A wound caused by her father. A father who discarded her the moment she stepped out of line and spoke out of turn. A father who left her behind. A father who… never cared. She placed her hand in her brother’s. “I yield,” she said.


End file.
